On the 15th, join Team BtC and those who care about animals in need. Write and read about your favorite animal-related cause, read posts, leave comments, and share! Need ideas?

• Tell us what you’ve done to Be the Change for Animals
• Who do you know who acts tirelessly on animals’ behalf?
• What favorite cause has a special need right now?

I decided to make my BtC for Animals about someone I know who works tirelessly on behalf of animals.

Just about a year ago, my friend Debbie, along with her husband packed up their belongings and moved from Connecticut to North Carolina.  Before leaving Connecticut  Debbie was very active in dog rescue.  Her landlord in Connecticut did not allow dogs, so Debbie got her fix by transporting dogs coming up from the south heading towards their forever homes.

Little did Debbie know that once she moved to North Carolina, her large heart and generous spirit would continue helping animals in need.  But I’ll let Debbie tell you.

ME: Hi Debbie, thanks for joining me and agreeing to share your story with us.

Last year you and Walter relocated to North Carolina.  You’ve told me before that God had a purpose in leading you there.  Can you share with my readers a little bit about the animal welfare situation you discovered in North Carolina?

Debbie: Lord, it was terrible.  On three separate occasions I saw pregnant dogs laying in the street.  They were so big they could hardly get up when a car would drive by.  My heart cried every time I saw one.

The town’s dump consisted of dumpsters.  Every time I went to get rid of my garbage I saw unwanted pets that had been dumped off.  Some of them were healthy, like they’d just been dropped off, while others were sickly looking.  There were so many animals that someone had built a makeshift crate to be used as a shelter.  My heart cried again and again because every time I went to the dump there was a new addition to the population.

Every time I went I’d bring buckets of food and gallons of water, to try and help feed these poor, unwanted souls.

ME:  That’s terrible, did you come up with a more permanent way to help these dogs?

Debbie: Eventually I decided to talk to my vet about what would be more helpful to the animals.  She suggested I attend a town meeting and bring my concerns to their attention.

ME: How did that go?

Debbie:  The town was concerned about the dump site, because every time they’d empty the dumpsters, people would fill them up and people were also pulling stuff out of the dumpsters and leaving the garbage laying around.

While my concern was the welfare of the animals, their concern was the mess.  I decided to join their cause, while taking care of my own at the same time.

I spoke up at the meetings and said I was a new citizen and the dump was an eye sore from the street, and the animals and the dump posed a health threat to the environment and it was just disgraceful.

Some of the affluent residents came up with some money to move the dump and make it manned,  but once they started the process they noticed all the sick babies and could no longer ignore it.  I call it a two for.

ME:  So now they are aware of the situation, what happened?

Debbie:  Well they set up Have a Heart traps and caught the dogs and took them to the vet.  My vet runs a small foster out of her practice.  The healthy animals were put up for adoption or fostered and the sickly animals were humanely euthanized.

ME: So how is the situation now?

Debbie:  No more dogs are being dumped. When the dump started clearing and pets were being caught and cared for finally, I looked to the sky and smiled at my Lord for showing me a way to help.

ME: Awesome!  You mentioned another way in which you help the animals, can you tell me about that?

Debbie:  Every quarter, the county offers three spay/neuter certificates to every resident.  It’s a forty minute ride, so that can be a problem for some folks.  Every quarter I go and get my three.  I give these to my vet to use for people who can’t afford to spay/neuter their pets.  If I know of someone specific in need, I can indicate I want the certificate to be used for that person.

ME: One last question for you Debbie, if someone is having a problem such as this in their community do you have any advice for them?

Debbie:  Yes! Ask questions. Find out how the town does business. Vote your town meetings. They have them! So many never participate. You can make a difference anywhere you choose. Stand tall and say your peace.

ME: Thank you SO much Debbie, for sharing your story with us.  And thank you for all you do to help our four-legged friends.  The world is a better place because of people like you.